A 2013 graduate of Sycamore High School, Bross was a four-year Honor Roll student who played soccer and ran track, participated in the Sci-Fi Club, drummed with the marching and symphonic bands and sang with the madrigals.

Bross credits his biologist mother for leading him to “value and respect NIU as an excellent institution of higher learning.”

“Mom has always been proud of being a part of NIU, whether as an employee, an alumna or a parent – my sister was also a Huskie – and this couldn’t help but rub off on me,” he says.

“She has always had a joy of learning that she has most definitely passed on to the children,” he adds.

NIU’s more than 800 SPS employees provide expertise and support for offices and colleges at the university and its regional locations. The SPS Dependent Scholarship has been funded through donations made by staff, annuitants and friends of the university.